The invention relates to a sales pack and to a process for producing such a sales pack.
In packaging for products, a distinction is drawn between so-called skin packs and plastic rigid-film packs. The skin packs comprise a thin flexible film of plastic which shapes itself around the product when heat is generated, but at the same time has no inherent stability and therefore has to be stabilized with a special rear wall of card. The disadvantage of this pack is a negative image, since it is generally used for cheap consumer products. Furthermore, owing to the properties of the flexible film, it is often only possible to a slight extent for the product to be three-dimensionally captured. Finally, production requires special air-permeable product supports for applying negative pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,931,495 discloses a pack in which the product is at least partially enclosed in a rigid film of plastic. In this case, during the production operation the rigid film of plastic is placed onto the product and shaped with a form fit around the product by means of heat and negative pressure. The advantage of this type of packaging is that the rigid film of plastic has inherent stability, so that it is possible to dispense with an additional label of paper, plastic or the like.
A disadvantage of this prior art is a design which does not envisage unauthorized removal of the product from the pack, since an additional card is merely applied to the upper side of the pack as a label. However, it is also envisaged to apply a covering on the underside of the rigid film, in order to close the opening completely. As evidenced by the description of this printed specification, it is envisaged that the required rigidity of the product by the relatively weakly formed film of plastic is only brought about by the additional card on the upper side or the underside.
There have also been disclosed plastic rigid-film packs (blister pack) in which, by means of an additional tool, the film of plastic is brought into a spatial form which does not correspond to the form of the product and into the interior of which the product is introduced. The rigid film may have lateral folds, into which a printed card is pushed in order to close the rear side of the pack. At the same time, the card has the required information. Securing of the card with respect to the rigid film is carried out, for example, by means of a staple or the like.
The invention is based on the object of proposing a pack, in particular for tools of all kinds, which represents a high-quality sales pack, which furthermore permits particularly good handling when the pack is opened and offers a high degree of security against theft. Altogether, good handling of the product is to be made possible and an environmentally compatible pack is to be provided.
Solution achieving the object and advantages of the invention:
Advantageous and expedient developments of the sales packs of the respective patent claims are presented in the subclaims.
The essential idea of the present invention is to create a sales pack by means of a rigid film of plastic which presents the product in an optimum way. On the basis of the production process, the rigid film of plastic is intended here to surround the product with a form fit in the manner of a xe2x80x9cskin packxe2x80x9d, so that the particular contour of the product is three-dimensionally reproduced. This serves for particularly advantageous sales presentation, in which the product is presented in its own form even within the pack. By using a transparent rigid film of plastic, a high degree of stability of the pack is achieved in the case of the present invention in comparison with a customary skin pack with a flexible film, since the rigid film itself has a carrying function of its own. As a result, it could in fact be possible to dispense with an additional carrier film or a carrier card, since the rigid film alone represents a complete pack. The rear covering additionally used according to the invention, such as for example card, paperboard, paper or film, is however used as an additional element for securing the product against unwanted or unauthorized removal, it being possible for this covering to be additionally used as an information carrier. According to the invention, the covering is applied only on a subregion of the rigid film of plastic, so that a further region comprises the rigid film of plastic alone, with its carrier properties. This has the advantage that the covering in these regions definitely ensures a closure secured against unwanted or unauthorized removal of the product, without a complete closure of the rear side by means of the covering being necessary. If only parts of the rigid film are closed with a corresponding covering, the removal of the product is made easier, since easier access to the interior of the pack is possible. Such a partial covering of the interior of the pack can accordingly perform the task of a tamper-proof closure, so that it is also possible for a guarantee to be protected, for example when the still unopened pack is returned. In any event, the pack or the product cannot be manipulated, since removal of the product always leads to the complete or at least partial destruction of the covering.
The region of the product pack not covered by the covering may be made to any size desired or varied, i.e. products of various sizes can be packed with a covering of the same size.
A not inconsiderable advantage is also the novel outer appearance of such a partial covering, which is always the same while the products differ, by means of a covering which only partially covers the rigid film. This covering may also be conceived as a trademark. The self-supporting properties of the rigid-film pack of course mean that the covering has the primary task of protection against theft, stopping simple removal, and a task as an information carrier. In particular, the covering may have additional factual or commercial information, additional company/brand names or other information which, for example, can be handled uniformly irrespective of the pack size. Additional labels of all kinds may also be printed on, adhesively attached or fastened in some other way.
The invention is also characterized by a production process, the pack being produced by the product to be packaged being placed into a receptacle or additional mold in a thermoforming or skin machine and by the heated rigid film subsequently being as it were thermoformed around the product with a form fit by means of a vacuum or compressed air or a vacuum and compressed air and without any additional tool. The rigid film hugs the product with a form fit. Subsequently, a covering, as described before, is applied on the rear side in such a way that a partial coverage of the rigid film takes place. The individual packs can be punched out from a sheet of film.
All rigid films of transparent, thermoformable plastic come into consideration as the material for the product packs, in particular PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PP (polypropylene), PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or PS (polystyrene). All materials, preferably those which can bear printing, come into consideration for the covering, in particular paper, paperboard, card or else films of plastic. A film of plastic which, for example, can bear printing and can be bonded to the rigid film of plastic by a suitable adhering, welding or sealing process also comes into consideration as the covering.
The sales pack according to the invention is suitable for packs of all kinds. It is particularly suitable for tools or tool accessories and in particular for elongate tools such as drills, chisels or sawblades, or else for tools such as hammers, screwdrivers or other elongate products. It is also suitable, however, for flat objects such as circular sawblades or the like.
The invention further provides that the high inherent rigidity of the pack and the associated carrying function can be brought about by means of suitable structural measures on the rigid film of plastic itself. For example, impressions in general and/or inscriptions taking the form of impressions are envisaged as information carriers, which additionally have the effect of stiffening the product pack. In this case, the rigid film of plastic may alone have all the required carrying properties and, if appropriate, itself convey the information required, so that the additionally applied covering merely serves for the security measures for the product and as an information carrier.